12 people injured by lightning; eight were working at farm near Wellington

Lightning injured 12 people in separate incidents Thursday afternoon, while thunderstorms created mudslides that damaged structures in northern Colorado.

A lightning strike before 4 p.m. at a farm near Wellington injured eight workers, two of them critically, said Letitia Betchel, spokeswoman for the Wellington Fire Protection District.

Five of those workers took shelter from the storm under, for unknown reasons, a work vehicle, a supervisor for the workers said through a translator. Some workers were taken to Medical Center of the Rockies and others to Poudre Valley Hospital.

Three other people were also treated at those two hospitals for lightning-related injuries, said Kelly Tracer, spokeswoman for Medical Center of the Rockies. It was unclear where those victims had been injured.

Earlier in the day, a 65-year-old woman was struck by lightning while hiking on Ute Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park, park authorities said. The woman was taken to Estes Park Medical Center. Her condition was not released.

A series of flash-flood warnings and advisories were issued for the northern Front Range on Thursday afternoon as heavy rains hit burn areas. The first flash-flood warning was issued around 1 p.m. for south central Larimer County near the Fern Lake burn scar, and later warnings were issued for the High Park burn area.

The National Weather Service reported that more than 1.5 inches of rain fell on the burn areas.

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Rist Canyon Road was closed between Davis Ranch Road and the canyon mouth because of heavy rain, and the Larimer County Sheriff's Office said emergency notifications were sent to 104 Bellvue phones regarding flooding in that area.

Flooding and mudslides damaged at least one structure in the area of Rist Canyon, said John Schulz, spokesman for the Larimer County Sheriff's Office.

The sheriff's office said a "significant" mudslide was reported on Colorado 14 in Poudre Canyon. At one point, the highway was closed in two spots. The road reopened after the debris was cleared.

The storm also produced a dusting of snow at Loveland Ski Area, and the Colorado Department of Transportation reported some light snow at Loveland Pass.

On the Western Slope, a large mudslide closed Interstate 70 in both directions near Palisade about 6:15 p.m. Another mudslide closed U.S. 24 in both directions east of Minturn, and mudslides were reported in the Marble and Redstone areas as well. The weather service said 2 inches of rain fell in some parts of the Western Slope on Thursday afternoon.

The Friday forecast for Larimer County calls for a high near 72 degrees with a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms.

In Denver on Friday, the weather service forecasts slightly cooler temperatures, with highs in the low to mid-80s and a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms.

Staff reporter Zahira Torres contributed to this report.

A state Department of Transportation front-end loader moves mudslide debris that flowed across Colorado 14 at mile marker 116 on Thursday. Mud and rocks pushed by heavy rains in the High Park burn area flowed across the road, closing it temporarily. (Doug Conarroe, North Forty News)

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